Support-protector for fragile articles



Dec. 18, 1956 P. M. WILLIAMS SUPPORT-PROTECTOR FOR FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed Jan. 3l, 1952 ssheetshet 2 PHILIP M, WILLIAMS HIS ATTORNEY Dec. 18, 1956 v P. M. WILLIAMS SUPPORT-PROTECTOR FGR FRAGILE ARTICLES 3 Sheets-Sh et 3 FIG.

l INVENTOR.

PHILIP M WILUAMS ms ATTORNEY FIG@ Filed Jan. 5l,

Unite tates Patent O SUPPORT-mortieren non nnAGmE ARTICLES Philip M. Williams, Oakland,Y Maine, assigner tok Keyes Fibre Company, Portland, Maine, a corporation of Maine Application January 31, 1952, Serial No. 269,210

2 Claims. (Cl. 20o-65) This invention relates to a packing material for fragile objects of generally oblate spheroidal shape and has for its principal object the provision of a new and improved supportV and protector for such objects.

More particularly in the disclosed embodiments the invention relates to a packaging support and protector for fragile objects such as sealed beam automobile headlights and the like.

One specific embodiment of the invention relates to a support and protector for headlights having a generally tapered end section, a second end section in the shape of a dome, and an intermediate portion interconnecting said end sections.

The prior art is full of many and varied forms of packing material for packing various type fragile objects for shipment in wooden or corrugated paper cases. Some of the prior art packing structures employ specifically shaped bottom-supporting structures made of molded pulp material with intermediate ller sheets of a different configuration, and sometimes even a top cover section of a still further diierent configuration. Other prior art type packing structures employ plural unitary molded pulpfragile article support structures of a single configuration whichV are adapted to provide support for a group of such articlesin a packing case, but. areso designed that the fragile articles are in substantially direct contact-with each other throughout a portion of their boundary surfaces and with only a thin separator-Wall intervening. v j

It is a primary object of the instant invention to pro,- vide a unitary support and protector sheet for fragile articles which will permit the packingof such articles in a relatively small space and yet provide highly adequate protection against breakage due to shocks and jars withoutyrequiring the-use *of separate differently vshaped auxiliary supports. i

Another object of this invention is to provide a single type support sheet which is readily adapted to various methodsrof packing. Y, Y

As illustrative ofthe principles involved, there are Vshowntwov separate types of support-containers for such fragile articles, but it will be understood that theV generic disclosure as used in the invention is not limited to the specific-structure of the two illustrated embodiments.

lui-the accompanying drawings in which areA indicated the. specic embodiments of the fragile article supports: gFig. l is a top plan View of an automobile headlight support and protector made from a unitaryrectangular sheetof molded pulp; Y

'Fig. 2 is an end edge view of the support member .of Fig.,` l;

Fig. '3. is a bottom plan-view of the unitary support of Fig. l; Y Y

Fig. 4 is a-side edge view thereof;

Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a plurality yof the supports of Fig.V l illustrating the use thereofin packing a case of twenty-four automobile headlights;

Fig. Y6 is a top plan view of ya modified Afragile'iarticle,

support; v

Fig; 7 is a section taken along the lines 7 7 of Fig. Fig. 8 is a section ofV such modified article support;

of Fig. 6 and indicating thevuse of the modied articleV support in packing a crate of twenty automobile headlights; and

Fig. ll isa sectional detail view of a modification ofv the support sheet of Fig. 6. y

ln packing fragile objects such as automobile headlights for shipment from the manufacturer to the distributor or user, it is the usual practice to pack such articles in units of twenty or thereabouts, depending upon the' type of bulb, arranged in a plurality of rows in Vvertically spaced layers within a rectangular box or crate. Intermediate the separate rows of headlights are normallyv interposed support-protectors formed of a cushioning material. The instant invention is devoted to providing a single protector which may be used to pack any number of rows of such fragile objects in the supporting crate or box.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, particularly Fig. 1the support-protector of the invention Vis illustrated as a unitary rectangular'sheet 1 formed of a molded pulp material. The corners 2 of said rectangular sheet are rounded to save'mterial and to increase.; the rigidity ofV such sheet. y,Formed in lengthwise and transverse rows at equidistant points on said sheet lare a plurality of circular hub-shaped bosses 3 and, 4f, vrespectively. As Yshown in Fig. :Vlg there are `siX f bos'ses indicated as 3 and six bosses indicated as 4, two of each of the diiferently numbered'bosses being alignedinhorizontal longitudinal rows on 'said sheet in alternate 'relationship. The arrangement is such that the separate bosses are also alternately, aligned transverselyV of; Vlie;`

sheet in lfour parallel rows of'three bosses4 each.' :j

The six bosses indicated as 3 are integrallyflformedas the bottoni central portions of a plurality'of jdeep dome-shaped cavities 6. VThe other six Vbosses are formed as integral hollowY truncated cone sections '5.' yEach lof the 4central portion of the arcuatejdish-shaped "cavitiesv are'depending internal rib portions 8. These'ribw'por-v tions merge with the external surface Vof the arcuate dish-shaped cavities. i Y

A furtherV two of said 'truncated cone portions are located adjacent two of the corners of 'saidf-sheetf'and merge with semi-'circular sections of shallow dish-shaped cavities 9. These ,cavities are Aformed identicalwith the aforesaid shallow cavities with the exceptionv ofv the arcuate extent thereof. Two strengthening ribs lil identical in construction with' the ribs ofthe aforementioned arcuate cavities areplarced-in each semi-circular cavity 9 andere disposed to'radiate tothe circumferential edge section of said semi-circular cavities adjacent the respective end segments of the 'arcs forming the rounded corners of the sheet. v i l The sixth and last truncated cone portion isY positioned intermediate four of the deepl dome-shaped cavities and merges with a four-,sided star-shaped support section Patented Dec. 18, 1956 ing .boundary sides Acontiguous with 4.respective .ones yof the y surrounding domefshaped cavitiesi Y The deep dome-shaped cavities, the arcuateand semicircular ldish-"shaped Acavities andV the star-shaped section ,A areY all interconnected by a network of arcuate -rib-like sections. Y This 'networ-kof support Vribs assures Vthat ithe rarticle -support adequately resistsexcess'ive bending. `'By Y use of suchV a network about staggered .pockets ithas been possible to eliminate the Vneed for 4conventional extended support ribs except inthe fringear'eas of the shallow dish-'shaped cavities. VThis networkfof interrelated .arcuatesupport ribs also provides an .anchor sectionVY for the Y' dome-shaped cavities Yt5 and permits such'dome-shaped cavities to provide a suspended resilient cushioning support for the 'articles -within the network ofthe supporting arcu-V ate lengths while such arcuate lenjgths yhold the -protector sheet'we'll suported in asingleplane. VWit-hsuelujconstruction the dome-shaped cavities 6 function as resiliently 1supported1article-retaining-members having -a vertical flexibili- Y ty which is desirable to prevent injury tothe fragile articles due to shocks and jars.

YReference'will now be made to Fig. v5 in describing the function `and operation of this `novel support in packing a vcase of automobile headlights for shipment. In posi- 4tioning the headlights, indicated by broken lines 12, inV

the support sheet 1, six `are placed with'their'frontal dome.- shapedV portions in the dome-shaped cavities 6 of the sheet 1. Six more are placed in an inverted relationship with their tapered `rear portions insertedqirito frictional engagement with Ythe internal sides of the truncated cone portions of sheet` 1. It will be noted that this As .shown in Fig. 5., Ya second nlayer of ,headlights may be supported above the rst in an identical support sheet Vl.' This groupingrof layers may be increased to any desired number, but under the usual commercial conditions two rows are all that are necessary. The bottom-support- Y ing'sheet of the upper rowis showny to Vhave continuous and positive bearing support through its boss members 3 and 4 upon the .like'boss members .Band 42er the upper covervsheet of the bottom row. .This reduces the possibilityl of 'the Vupper iheadlights sagging into Contact .with thelower headlights. v

g Many variations in using the'support protector sheet of Vthis invention in V-pac'king fragile :objects suchl as head- Vlight bulbs are possible; for example, the bottom pro- Y tector sheet maybe inserted in the'crate first and then have the headlights placed thereon, thereafter'providing a'cover for the rst row, then inserting a support for the second row on top of said cover, inserting Vthe se'cond row of headlights yein the second support, and thereafter providing the upper cover for Vsaid second row. `Alter natively, the headlights may be assembled inthe protector -sheets in separate subassembledgroups 'by insert- VVVing twelve of the headlights ina bottom protector and methodof packing permits a staggered grouping of Vl2 headlights .in a layerfwhich occupies considerably'lessl space than that of the total of "the cross-sectional surface areas of the individual'headlights. Y g

After the twelve headlights are inserted in the bottom support sheet, a vsecond identical support sheet, inverted with respect to the'iirst by. rotating it 180 around its short axis, is placed over the' top of the headlights. This Vsecond sheet, as is clear from an inspection of lFigfS,

Y engages thepreviouslyextended ends ofthe twelve jhead. lights and provides with the lower support sheet .1 'a com.-Y

pletely closed support and Vprotectorjfor such headlights. It will be noted, as is indicatedin the gure,'thatthe `boss portions 3 and 4 of the bottom support sheet all bear upon therbottom of the crate 15 and provide a solid'foundation thereafter covering each'with the upper finverted coverVV 'interconnected by a Vcentral strip Y24, partly ofi-curved and partly of angularly related at sections, 26 throughY 27 inclusive. The lcavities are formed instaggered longi-V tudinal rows of 3 'and 2 respectively, two rows of eachY being illustrated, but such arrangement o'f -rows maybe extended 'asdesired Adjacent the. longitudinalfends'f'of.V the rectangular sheetl 20V are formed depending stile'ning` ribs .25, .each of :which merges with some or all of thei cavities at the. ends of the sheet to stiifen it,-particu1arlyV Y near corner portionsthatare farrfrompockets. As shown for the Ypacked assembly.V As previously described, the headlights'contained in the cavities 6 of the bottomV support sheet frictionally bear upon the depending surfaceof said dome-shaped .cavity and'due to the'boss sections 3 are vertically supported above the bottom surface of the crate. This insures Vthat the headlights will be adequately cushioned againstany shocks resulting from ahandlin'g in Figures 7 'and 8, the centrally located cavities whichA are spaced from the longitudinal ends of; the-sheetf20 have their central Vstrips Vformedgof a depending cross-V sectional surface conliguration of opposed convex Vsurfaces 26 interconnected by an-integral angular related. A plurality of concave.. and iiat sections 27 -a-nd 32,8 respec-j V The oblate cavities adjacent' vthelong'itudinal tively.

. ends of the rectangular sheet V20 have "theirlcentral'con# of the case during shipment. YThe cone-shaped cavitiesV havean'inherent resiliencyrdue to the construction ofthe intermediateV hump-shaped arcuate rib structures which,

together with the tapered character of the engagement be'- Y tween the end ofthe headlights Vand theborsscause's them to` deflect yin a lateral direction when forces'rffrrom any It will .further be/noted that the tapered' end sectionsof the headlights, which are vniountedjin the lower support,

are vertically'suspendedabove the surfaceof the shipping 'crate in substantially theY same manner'as are the dome# shaped .portions .ofthe leadli'ghtyf The'upper portion of 'sourcepress theheadlights against the support sheets.V

necting stripforlnedwith across-sectional surfaceconfiguration nof arcuate curvatures, 26 and V29,-'of differing lengths connected by two short sections and .28. The portions of the .central strips 26, 27 and A28 adjacentr-rthe center section Vof the sheet y20 in these end cavitiesfare Y formed. identically with the adjacent.portionsof'g'theV stripsV of` the'intermediate cavities in nSthe center section of ,the sheet 20.

The purposeof 'the'.angulalrly related 'flat'sectionsfinterr-V v Y Vconnectingutlie Varcuate curved sections of the central y strips of the'fcavities isito .provide va reslientsupportgs'ur.- f

' ,faceY for the edges ofthe headlights when disposed' in these Ytapered .ends isrwedged into engagement with the side wallsof the upperpart ofthe truncatedcone portions 5, Vthereby providing a relatively self-'supporting base for Y such .'bulrbs during packing, and yet'r/etainin'gV suicient flexibility due Yto the Yarcuate rib structures intermediate:

.the headlights to protect such articles against vbreakage due tofshocks l oriars. The huinp=shaped Aarcuate' lengths 'tive 'separating 'or isolating boundary be- =their coming intoV direct contactvvithjeach other.

the cavities;

short at sections. This provides -a spacerin which the headlights may beV moved vertically as by/.reason --o'f .7. shocks andjars eri'couintered under shipping ,conditions Y ,without engagingany Yhardlobjects or .adjacent articles.

A11-example of the .use ofthis modifiedheadlightsupportY and Y the packing crate-30 containsZQ suchrheadlights, indi# "As indicated bythegdotfdash'circles yinliigs.V Y -7 and 8, the headlights, when disposed in the cavities,y are A frictionally gripped by the upper uarcuate sectionsof the Y central strips and supportedabove the angularly'relate'd protector is illustrated in Fig.' l0. v-In' thisgure cated by broken lines 35, arranged in two vertically spaced groups of ten each. In packing the headlights for shipment, the first group is placed in one layer on a bottom-support sheet 20 previously positioned in the crate, a second support sheet is then placed over the upper surfaces of this lower layer of headlights with .the second sheet turned end for end. As is indicated in the figure, the concave sections 27 of the intermediate strips of the depending cavities in the second sheet have reverse curvatures which conform to and frictionally bear upon the eX- posed surfaces of the lowermost row of headlights and are supported thereby. A second series of headlights is then placed in this second support sheet, and as will be noted from an inspection of the ligure, they are supported in spaced relation with respect to the lowermost layer of headlights. To insure complete protection, a third identical protector sheet 20 is inserted over this upper layer in an inverted relationship with respect to the second support sheet and provides eXtra top protection for this upper layer of headlights.

By the instant invention there is provided a relatively simple and easily and cheaply manufactured support protector for fragile articles which may be easily and readily adapted to various types of packing and shipping methods without the use of any other support or protecting structure. A group of support sheets 20 of identical conguration is all that is needed to pack any desired numerical assembly of bulbs in a shipping crate. It will further be noted that in the embodiment of Fig. no protective covering is needed for the bottom layer of headlights since sections of the cavities of an upper sheet provide the required spacing between the vertically displaced rows. It is thus seen that by simply using three such protector and support sheets, a case of twenty fragile headlights may be safely and easily packed for shipment.

Fig. ll illustrates an alternative construction for the end cavities of the longitudinal sheet 20. In lieu of utilizing a central strip having arcuate sections in different lengths and an intermediate angularly related flat strip, the central section may be devised as having opposed arcuate sections 31 which merge into an offset horizontally at strip 32 similar to the support provided for the dome-shaped portions of the headlights in the example of Fig. 1. In this form the oblate spheroidal headlights are frictionally gripped by the opposed arcuate surfaces 31 on a relatively large circumferential area of their central periphery and are positively supported above the surface of the shipping crate. The at intermediate connecting section provides a cushion support which permits the arcuate sections to deect under shocks and jars even more than in the sheet construction of Fig. 10.

A feature of the present invention is that the packed articles themselves provide a link in the resilient spacing between adjacent layers of the articles. Thus it will be noted that in the construction of Fig. 5, the central portions of lthe protective sheets 1 need not be supported against each other between the individual articles about which they are sandwiched. These central portions being Iremote from the abutting flange-like margins of these sheets are normally weak enough to permit considerable sagging in the absence of some effective support. However, by providing suitable strengthening bends of riblike character, as indicated in the above-described examples, the sheets can be made to very effectively support themselves against the articles they cushion, cushion the articles from each other, and also cushion the articles in one row from those in an adjacent row.

To assist in inserting and removing the above packing sheets from the bosses or crates with which they are to be used, the sheets can be provided with marginal finger holds or weakened portions 11 through which a persons lingers can be slipped so as to secure an adequate nger hold on the edges of the sheet where there would otherwise be ilnsucient marginal clearance.

Although the sheet of Fig. 1 is shown as having its margin in the form of a ilange extending in a plane displaced on one side of the remainder of the sheet, this marginal flange can be lowered part or all of the way to the level of other portions of the sheet, as shown for example in the construction of Fig. 6. On the other hand the construction of Fig. 6 can, if desired, have its margins displaced into an offset plane as in the construction of Fig. l.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope hereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited -to the specific embodiments hereof except as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. An article support for fragile articles consisting 0f a generally rectangular sheet of molded pulp material having a set of deep tangential dome-shaped cavities and a set of arcuate segments of shallow dish-shaped cavities formed therein between adjacent dome-shape cavities, each of said sets of cavities depending in the same direction, a plurality of truncated cone portions formed integral with each of said dish-shaped shallow cavities, further depending therefrom and projecting beyond the lower portions of the domes a plurality of circular bosses formed integral with the central bottom portions of said dome-shaped cavities and projecting down to the level of the lower ends of said cone portions.

2. A package comprising a rectangular box-like crate, a rst rectangular support sheet within said crate, said sheet being constructed of molded-pulp material and having a set of deep, tangential, dome-shaped cavities and a set of arcuate segments of shallow dish-shaped cavities formed therein between adjacent dome-shaped cavities, each of said sets of cavities depending in the same direction, a plurality of truncated cone portions formed integral with each of said shallow, dish-shaped cavities, there being a plurality of circular bosses formed integral with the central bottom portions of said domeshaped cavities, said circular bosses depending from and projecting beyond the lower portions of said dome-shaped cavities down to the level of the lower ends of said cone portions, the lower ends of said circular bosses and of said cone portions resting on the bottom of said crate, a plurality of fragile objects supported within the cavities and segments of cavities in spaced relation to the bottom of said crate, a second support sheet identical with said first support sheet and turned end-for-end with respect thereto, said second support sheet overlying said fragile articles supported by said first support sheet to form an enclosed bottom layer and adapted to support a similar enclosed layer thereupon within said crate.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,720,889 Eshleman July 16, 1929 1,929,944 Chaplin Oct. 10, 1933 1,960,279 Read May 29, 1934 2,078,927 Dorr May 4, 1937 2,216,339 De Reamer Oct. l, 1940 2,233,044 Beck Feb. 25, 1941 2,351,754 Friday June 20, 1944 2,428,384 Randall Oct. 7, 1947 2,568,769 Shepard Sept. 25, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 615,732 Great Britain Ian. 11, 1949 

